LONG–TERM FOOD RESTRICTION PREVENTS THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES OF THE CONTENT OF BIOLOGYCALLY ACTIVE SPHINGO- AND GLYCEROLIPIDS СONTENS IN THE RAT TISSUES.

Age peculiarities of the calorie-restricted diet effects on the contents biologically active sphingo- and glycerolipids were studied in the heart, liver and brain of 3- and 24-month-old rats. Rats were either kept on the ad libitum diet or on a calorie restricted diet (70-80% reduction in total calories) without reduction in essential nutrients. It has been determined that calorie restricted diet decreased the ceramide, sphingomyelin, cardiolipin and phosphatidic acid levels in the all investigated tissues of the rats. At the same time, calorie restriction diet prevented the age-induced ceramide and phosphatidic acid accumulation, ceramide/sphingomyelin ratio elevation, and sphingomyelin and cardiolipin content decrease in the tissues of 24-month-old rats. In addition, tissue specificity of calorierestricted diet effects has been determined. The Elevated levels of cardiolipin and phosphatidic acid were determined in the heart and liver of 24 months-old rats under calorie-restricted diet, in comparison to control animals, whereas in the brain the caloric restriction diet had the opposite effects. These results suggest that calorie-restricted diet may prevent the development of age-associated pathologies due to the modulation of biologically active lipid turnover in the old tissues.